World of Warcraft "exploring the possibility" of an in-game real money store

Pesky dataminers have been combing through the World of Warcraft test server updates, and found references to a real-money item purchase. The spell, called Enduring Elixir of Wisdom, was added to the Public Test Realm in patch 5.4, offers a 100% XP boost, and mentions an "in-game store". Community manager Zarhym confirmed that Blizzard were considering microtransactions, albeit while using the softest, most player placating phrasing possible.

"We are currently exploring the possibility of adding a way for players in certain regions to make purchases directly within the game," Zarhym wrote . As part of this process, elements related to this will be appearing on the PTR. We'll provide additional updates on our plans as development progresses."

The key part seems to be "certain regions", potentially making this a planned solution for areas where the subscription model has struggled to hold. (Although, technically that's every region.)

Beyond that, would it matter for an XP boost. Levelling quicker doesn't provide an massive advantage over other players - it's just a way of speeding the ascent to the end-game. And it's important to remember that we've no idea what items would be made available, even if they did come to Western regions.